cheap thrills & lace frills

It's fitting that on our first day in Taipei, we do what we do best: shop! we hit three different locations:

1. SOGO: like the Neiman Marcus of America, the La Rinascente of Italy
2. xi men din: where all the "young people" go
3. wufenpu: endless alleyways crowded with street vendors, tiny hole-in-the-wall stores, & food carts

SOGO was just like any department store: expensive & clean. We sat down at the Kaffee Amadeus (not to be mistaken for George Washington) on the top floor for a coffee...the coffee was good and made for a nice pictures, but it was pretty overpriced (around $20 for three).

xi men din was kind of like a mall, with different shops and stores all in a concentrated area. But when I say mall, I only mean because of the variety; it's all outdoors and very cheap. Here are some of the styles I saw there. stripes&plaid:

and last, my favorite, was wufenpu, which reminded me of a flea market. the prices were ridiculously cheap and the variety was endless...

and here is what I bought: a frilly sea green blouse (500 NT), lace shorts (150 NT), & black harem pants romper (290 NT) *point of reference: 100 NT=$2.80

current trends in Asia: collars, lace, stripes, multi-print, pearls, stars&hearts, crop-tops, short shorts, pastels, & of course, cheap thrills ;)